Ellipticals are effective at helping you burn calories without putting excessive stress on your joints. These machines can also help you burn belly fat if you use the proper workout. Rather than working out a moderate, steady-state intensity level, turn up the intensity to burn away the fat. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is the type of training that will get the job done. In fact, HIIT is shown to have a direct effect on burning belly fat when used regularly, according to the American Council on Exercise.

Prepare to Work

Preparing for a vigorous workout is important to warm up your muscles, get your breathing rate elevated and to help prevent injuries. Spend about five minutes on the elliptical warming up at a slow pace anywhere from 50 to 100 strides per minute, or spm. Your elliptical may display rotations per minute, or rpm, which is half that of spm. So, you would aim for 25 to 50 rpm during your warmup. After the five minutes, do some quick leg and arm stretches, and you’re ready to go.

Resistance and Speed

Set the resistance level of the elliptical to a light-to-medium resistance. Start at a light resistance your first few times, since the workout itself is quite intense. You’ll be sprinting on your elliptical at near maximum effort for 30-second intervals. Aim for about 150 to 200 spm, or 75 to 100 rpm, during these sprints. If you can’t reach these speeds to start, don’t get down on yourself. After several of these workouts, you’ll see your speed improve.

The First Set

The meat of the workout begins with a 30-second sprint followed by a 30-second rest period performed at a snail’s pace to recover. Sprint again for 30 seconds followed by a 20-second rest this time. Go all-out again for 30 seconds followed by a 10-second rest period. Do another 30-second sprint and 10-second-rest interval. Do yet another 30-second sprint followed by a 20-second rest. Sprint for 30 more seconds followed by a 30-second rest. End the first set by doing a final 30-second sprint at near maximum effort followed by a 60 second rest period to recover. The sprint-to-rest ratio in seconds should follow this pattern: 30-30; 30-20; 30-10; 30-10; 30-20; 30-30; 30-60.

Finishing Strong

After the first set is completed, following the 60-second rest period, do the whole thing over again. Your speeds will most likely decline a bit due to fatigue, but still push yourself to get your elliptical pedals moving at rapid pace during the sprints. Take advantage of the rest periods to recover. Beginners should stop after the second set, but eventually work your way up to a total of four sets in the coming weeks. Following the last set, don’t forget to cool-down for about five minutes.

What to Expect

Use this elliptical routine three times per week to start, and up to five times per week as you begin to improve your physical fitness. Your elliptical machine will tell you how many calories you’re burning, but try not to pay too much attention to those numbers. They’re often inaccurate, and it’s belly fat you’re concerned with more than anything. So, monitor your progress by measuring your waistline and tracking the results. This HIIT elliptical workout can begin melting away your belly fat rather quickly. You’ll most likely see results in the form of looser-fitting pants within the first two or three weeks.